Jen Vining-Smith, most recently a Deputy Athletics Director and the Senior Woman Administrator at Delaware, has been named Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Notre Dame. Vining-Smith, who was a member of the Irish Athletics Department from 2009-16, returns to campus to help lead Notre Dame’s GLD (Grow, Lead, Do) Center.
The GLD Center is committed to empowering Notre Dame student-athletes to maximize their impact by focusing on their body, mind and spiritual development. Vining-Smith will also play a significant leadership role within the realm of sport administration and performance strategy as a member of the Sports Performance Leadership Team.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have Jen and her family back in the Notre Dame community,” said Jody Sadler, Notre Dame Deputy Athletics Director for Competitive Excellence.
“She is a talented administrator who will add immense value on a multitude of levels and help push our GLD Center initiative to greater heights.”
Vining-Smith has been at Delaware since 2018 and was responsible for leading the athletics department Student Success Team which also included NCAA compliance, leadership development and academic student services. She helped lead the BLUE (Building Leaders Utilizing Education) program that helped ensure the development of leadership skills, financial literacy and professional readiness.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to come back home to Notre Dame,” Vining-Smith said.
“I have been very fortunate during my time away to expand my skill set under some of the most talented leaders in collegiate athletics. I am eager to bring those experiences back and help develop the GLD Center into an industry leader in the development of the total student-athlete.”
Before her time at Delaware, Vining-Smith was an Associate Athletics Director at UCLA from 2016-18, playing a key role in the Bruins NCAA compliance office that included oversight of all NCAA investigations and reporting of violations along with waiver submissions.
During her time with Notre Dame (2009-16), Vining-Smith rose from an assistant to associate athletic director in the compliance department while serving as a team administrator for the swimming and diving program. She also was a facilitator and mentor for the Rosenthal Leadership Academy.
Vining-Smith began her collegiate athletics career as an Assistant Director of Compliance at Northwestern University (2004-07) and the Big Ten Conference (2007-09).
A 2000 graduate of Manchester University, Vining-Smith earned a Master of Science in Sport Administration from the University of Louisville in 2003.
Born and raised in Mishawaka, Indiana, Jen and her husband, Jeremy, have two sons, Kaleb and Braedyn.
Vining-Smith’s official start date at Notre Dame is set for February 6, 2023.